


The Dystopian Eye

by RainbowSheltie



Series: Meeting Love [2]
Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Never Close Our Eyes - Adam Lambert (Music Video), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Bottom!Tommy Ratliff, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Romance, Top!Adam Lambert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-20 20:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2442869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSheltie/pseuds/RainbowSheltie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never close your eyes. The dystopian future is now. Adam Lambert has been captured and the last thing he remembers is the same monotonous routine as the Others. But something is missing; someone is missing - and he's beginning to remember. The Eye has hidden Tommy away and Adam is pissed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is homosexual (male-male) love. I think it bears repeating that if this offends you, please either close your browser or hit the "back" button.
> 
> In this story, I'm using the same Adam and Tommy as my "Meeting Love" Universe. If you haven't read "Meeting Love: Inescapable Destinies" yet, don't worry, but the same warnings still apply for the characters themselves. Both have "Dominate" or "submissive" personality traits, but no BDSM (playing, scening, toys) appear in my story. Light D/s does however appear, but there will typically be a reason for their actions; nothing heavy, no rules or punishments, etc. So. 
> 
> Also, if you haven't watched Adam Lambert's Music Video: [**Never Close Our Eyes**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u3dkVk3F57c) then DO SO NOW. Because I'm telling you, this fic is totally based entirely off of that video. Well, the story line is. Obviously I've expanded it, and twisted it to suit my own sneaky, sneaky needs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpts from a Private Electronic Journal and general introduction to the plot (story line). Please watch Adam Lambert's "[ **Never Close Our Eyes**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u3dkVk3F57c)" music video! That helps set up the introduction and atmosphere to this story. :D

 

* * *

**Private Electronic Journal**

**Day 5**

I know that when I woke up five days ago, my memory is telling me that it shouldn't have been any different from any other day. But my memory isn't in sync with my feelings.

It was almost as if I had been asleep for a long time and had just woken up. My memories feel real, but also distant, as if they happened to someone else. But I did experience them, didn't I?

**Day 7**

I'm beginning to see why I'm so different. It's because everyone else is the same. I follow their lead, I do what I think I've always done. Sleep and Awake at the same times, but each night I get flashes of another life. Blonde hair streaks across my mind, but it's elusive.

My brain gets headaches every time I wake up now, because the Dreams are starting to get intense. Vague and really a convoluted mess, but harsh and real unlike anything I've felt before.

Why can't I remember who that blonde hair belongs to?

**Day 9**

The Eye - the ever-seeing Eye watches over all of us. I can feel it on the back of my neck. I don't know who watches the Eye, or if its the Eye who is the one behind the scenes. As long as I act like everyone else, the Eye doesn't notice me. Too many people to watch over.

I'm beginning to realized that my Dreams are memories because there are things I know, that I didn't just a few days ago. Like the Eye - I didn't notice its presence before today.

But that blonde in my Dreams remains a mystery. I think I know why. I think the Eye doesn't want me to remember.

What have they done to me?

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

The day, the buildings, the atmosphere never changes. Overcast, light grey clouds cover the sky. The buildings and concrete floors are the same, white walls and dark grey pipes. Only the red of the Eye and the scanners bring life to this world, but that red doesn't enhancing anything. It reminds everyone of their place.

Adam was starting to feel uncomfortable. It had only been a few days since he had "woken up". An activity that he has done a million times before, since before he could even remember. But that day, Day Zero, had been  _different_  somehow. Had felt  _different_. He couldn't place it, but also didn't dare question it because it wasn't his place to. He had things to do today: Meal Time (nutrition pills), the scanner room for daily Check-Ups, cleaning and washing to do. If they didn't do these tasks, who would?

It was important to do these tasks. They needed to be done.

* * *

Adam had found an electronic data pad in his room on Day Zero, tucked inside his pillow case. Hidden away. Everyone must have gotten one, and Adam didn't question it, just put it back and continued to sleep. He had to get up early.

Day Five was the day Adam began to realize how odd that data pad really was. If everyone got one, why keep it hidden in such an (uncomfortable) way? How did it get there? Because no one talked, no one shared information or focused on tasks not their own.

He didn't question it that day, but he did start keeping a log starting just after Lights Out. It seemed extremely important he record his feelings, recording everything and everyone he met. But why?

Questions were popping up faster then he could answer them, but even then, they still weren't so important that he really needed to bother finding the answers. He was content, and that was enough.

For now.

* * *

The morning of Day Seven, Adam had woken up with an extreme headache that lasted almost the entire day. It hadn't been until Last Meal Time that it finally started to recede.

It had been the most painful experience in his life, like someone was trying to rip and pull apart the pieces of his brain with their bare hands like a child's toy. Adam couldn't help but feel as if there were memories that had been ripped out of his skull, and they were now trying to force their way back inside - as painful as the extraction of them.

He wanted to remember more, but something kept him back. Some sort of programming that kept him going in circles. Something he still didn't want to question.

* * *

The Eye was everywhere now. Adam could see them all around him. Why hadn't he noticed them before? It was so obvious, it should have been obvious. Perhaps the same things that kept him questioning made Adam realize: he didn't see them because he was programmed not to.

The Eye was dangerous, but he still had no idea why. The Dream last night were snippets of conversations, blueprints of buildings, plans, faceless people he _knew he knew_ but couldn't place. Above all, there was the Eye. The Eye that watched them all, that controlled them, the Eye he should probably fear.

Because now Adam  _knew_  things about the Eye - just basic things, simple - but he couldn't bring himself to fear it. The Eye was powerful, all seeing, it controlled everything but Adam just couldn't do it. Couldn't pretend to be afraid, because he wasn't.

Something that held his mind in an overly tight vice was slowly loosening its hold. The Daily Check-Ups had never affected him the way it should. The power Adam felt when he crushed the daily pill in his hand was palpable.

Adam knew he was meant to be here. Plans and secrets jumbled around in his brain, but without knowing more about  _why_  he had come here, nothing made sense no matter how hard he wished it would.

He felt the time ticking away the more days that passed by him, but his Dreams were starting to repeat themselves. Adam never saw the blonde in his Dreams again, tucked that away to the back of his mind, because it wasn't important. There was a voice in his head telling him to forget that image, the hair, the addiction and obsession he only caught whispers of that first night.

It wasn't until he saw a single strand of blonde hair on his pillow, lit up by the faint light of the LCD screen on his data pad.

Blonde hair. Tommy. Adam screamed, his mind being ripped open, like the First Dream, but this was  _different_. This was worse, because now he knew  _why_  he was here. He knew why he felt time passing him by.

He remembered everything.


	2. I'm Never Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Dreams and a few Private Electronic Journal entries later, and Adam finds himself beginning to realize he's not alone - in more ways than he realizes. This is also where I tell you to watch yet another Adam Lambert music video (if you haven't already): "[ **Better Than I Know Myself**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg31XQR22zg)f" - because the dual sides of Adam make an appearance by the end. Seriously, who doesn't love the dark side on occasion? 
> 
> I bet the dark side has holiday-themed Oreo cookies ~ o_o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention that Adam is based off of a combination of his music videos "[ **Better Than I Know Myself**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg31XQR22zg)" and "[ **For Your Entertainment**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IsPFDzAGb4A)". 
> 
> In this particular case, BTIKM applies to Adam's **Light Persona** (blue eyes) while FYE is geared towards his **Dark Persona** (gold eyes). So, please make sure to WATCH IT (or watch it again!) before reading.
> 
> Adam's character story line follows BTIKM in all my stories, to varying degrees. All you really need to know, however, is that Adam is separated into two different halves of the same personality. He hasn't quite gotten it "all together" so to speak. In this particular story, it’s a metaphor for not trusting yourself - this isn't true with my "Inescapable Destinies" story, however.

* * *

"They're after you." Adam whispered, worried. "We can't keep hiding forever."

"I know." Tommy drew Adam closer to him, a finger hooked around one of Adam's belt loops. Adam pressed his body against Tommy's, hands running possessively through blonde hair.

"Why aren't you more worried?" He asked Tommy.

A grin was his response, brown eyes meeting his own blue ones. Tommy leaned closer, opening his mouth to let Adam in, tongue and lips meeting in a fierce kiss that left Tommy's knees slightly shaky. The blonde drew away; seductive smile never leaving his face. "Because I know that you will always come for me. One day we won't be so lucky, and they'll find us, but there will also come a day that you will rise to be the man I know you are."

"You will stop them, Adam, because in order to save me, they'll be in your way." Tommy pulled away completely, heading towards the bunker door. He turned once more before he left, hand holding the door open.

"I know your temper and I know your loyalty. The Eye will stand in your way, I promise you. To get me back, they will try to stop you, to change you, make you forget."

"I know you've always repressed that side of you; the one with the golden eyes. You'll find you can no longer live apart from one another - and that, that is why you will destroy them."

"Because you love me."

* * *

 

"Are you sure you want to do this, Adam?" The African American man asked, concern edging his voice. "The Eye will make you forget everything you ever knew. If you're not strong enough-"

"I know, Terrence, but I don't have a choice." Adam said offhandedly while studying the mass of blueprints on the table before them. It wasn't a question if he should go, it never would be. Everyone who knew Adam knew the answer without having to ask. Redundancy.

"I can't guarantee you'll make it back to us." Terrence continued. "No matter how strong you are, you'll never remember on your own."

Adam's mind flashed to earlier that morning - in the mirror, a darker reflection of himself staring back at him, but Adam was afraid of losing control again because that was how they got in this mess in the first place. Where it all started, at the beginning...

"I can't, Terrence. Not yet." Adam responded; because both of them knew what needed to be done, but it was Adam who kept resisting every time the subject matter was brought up. Terrence only sighed in response; this argument wasn't new, but from the look on the man's face, Adam saw that Terrence would let it drop once more.

"They got Sasha." Terrence said into the silence.

Sasha. Adam knew her - at least, by reputation, as one of the most successful Transient members; crafty, cunning, smart and extremely sexy. If Adam were interested in the opposite sex, she might have caught his eye once upon a time. As it was, he had only met her a brief handful of times, almost two, three years ago. She was supposed to have infiltrated the compound to retrieve Intel, to be another "inside man", but she apparently hadn't been that lucky.

Instead of becoming the typical Other it was possible for people to be turned into a One. One's were the most dangerous, the worst of them all - because whatever they did to turn a person into a One, it was permanent. Brain damage, genetic alterations, implants and bio-organic technology to create a perfect, smart, better humanoid under the Eye's full control.

Sasha had also been like a sister to Terrence, even before she announced her engagement to his little brother, Spencer.

Adam knew the plan had always been to let the Eye capture her; it was dangerous, but no one ever said being in the Transient would be safe, would be easy. They were the only defense against the Eye - the Eye that had taken over the world. No one saw it coming until it was too late - the dependence on technology would be known as humanities greatest achievement and another cause of their complacency. By the time people realized what was going on, nothing could be done except hide.

And Terrence wouldn't have said anything about Sasha unless something had gone wrong. The look in Terrence's eyes as he spoke told Adam all he needed to know. The man never allowed himself to openly express his emotions, but for Adam, it wasn't necessary.

"What about you?" Because Terrence would be following after Adam.

"Don't you worry about me." Came the reply. Terrence had been caught before; him and his brother. Only one of them managed to escape with the help of other Transients in a fluke rescue.

"They can't get to me." He finished. "I won't be able to help you once you get inside."

Adam couldn't say anything to that. Didn't know what he could say. He shrugged his shoulders, almost ready to give in, to turn away before a powerful surge of anger flooded through him. It possessed him, forcing out all of Adam's undirected frustration, rage, hatred and grief towards Terrence.

An anger that had him challenging Terrence for leadership; looked him directly in the eyes - baiting him to try and stop him. Because Adam was done with being looked down upon, treated like an inconvenient, tired of being second guessed every step of the way and fed up with everyone trying to keep him away from Tommy. His Tommy.

"I'll get Tommy back with or without your help, _Terrence_." Adam spat the name in disgust, because now he was pissed. "No one will stand in my way - and so help me, if you try to stop me _I will stop you_."

Golden eyes glinted in the dim lights hanging from the ceiling. Terrence grunted, backing down by lower his eyes, tilting his head to the side, trying to cover up the smile trying to grace his features. This was the Adam you didn't fuck around with, the one you either chose to respect or be left to face the consequences. This Adam was loyal to one person and one person only - and that person wasn't here to counteract Adam's temper.

"I'll always be on your side," He acquiesced, respect filtering through his voice. "We'll get Tommy back. No matter the cost."

And that had been the right thing to say, because Adam's eyes were blue again. Adam blinked, shaking off the feelings from earlier and started wrapping things up. Because the time for planning was over.

* * *

  **Private Electronic Journal**

* * *

 

**Day 11: Awake**

I still can't remember all the details of the plan. I should know it; at least, I feel I should. Blonde hair has invaded my Dreams, and sometimes even in my Day Dreams. Whatever hold the Eye has on me is strong, because I can only remember the few weeks leading up to my capture.

The Transient is a resistant group, but I don't know how they fit into my life. Perhaps I asked them to help me find Tommy? Could we have possibly been a part of the resistance as well?

**Day 11: Sleep**

I saw the first sign of the Eye's soldiers today. I don't know what to call them, I can't remember, but they look like guards, doctors, lab technicians, scientists - all sorts of people dressed in various white outfits and matching gear. A color as dull as the surroundings.

Something must have happened; a small group, but they looked in a hurry.

A pair of golden eyes reflect back at me in my Dreams during last nights' Sleep and I've managed to push the visions aside, but now I'm starting to see them when I'm Awake. Fleeting glints of gold out of the corner of my eyes. Reflective surfaces, mirrors, windows.

They're trying to tell me something, but I'm afraid. I feel I will be irreparably changed and although I'm scared, something inside me tells me that I can't back down or hide from my fears. Even if I can't remember my past beyond a handful of days, I need to be true to who I am as a person. Right now, I can only go with what I know.

Tommy is waiting for me, and whatever my connection, be it lover, partner or husband - I will find him.

No one will stand in my way.

**Day 12**

I've found the Eye's weakness today. I was tired of eating those pills every day, all day, the only food source available for us. It had to stop, so I crushed it in anger and felt... power flood through my body.

It wasn't through the act of rebellion that causes the weakness; it’s the power inside each of us that does. Individuality, creativity, confidence, happiness.

Humanity itself is its greatest weakness.

**Day 13**

I'm slowly changing. I don't know how I know; perhaps I'm simply comparing myself to the Others - those who do not change.

Something is starting to awaken. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling that it’s more dangerous than anything the Eye has in store. If a part of me is really the key to breaking Tommy out of this dystopia, then I can't get captured sneaking around the facility looking for him. I need help. I need the Transients.

The golden eyes that haunt my Dreams have yet to lead me astray. I need to find who that is, keep them safe, hidden from the Eye until the time is right. Although I get the feeling that he's a power without temperance...

He's also the key to everything.

* * *

  **Chapter 2: I'm Never Dreaming**

* * *

 

The alarm blared in one long, hollow sound as the bright lights lit up the complex. It was time to Awake. The temperature in the facility was always warm, body temperature - just enough so that you weren't cold, but not hot enough to become uncomfortable. The beds came with thin top sheets, but it wasn't strictly necessary. He had a feeling it was there because, even brainwashed, there would be some who might slip under the covers out of habit. After all, the less the Others questioned their existence, the easier it would be to control them.

Those golden eyes in his Dreams always reflected off his own and he couldn't figure out why. Why did they keep haunting him? Not even hours after his first Dream about the blonde had those eyes started following him. It was bad enough that the Eye was semi-permanently watching their every move, but now his Dreams were as well. Oddly, those golden eyes never bothered him as much as the Eye did. Everywhere he looked, though, it was either flashes of red or gold and it really was starting to drive him just a bit crazy.

It wasn't until after Check-Up - during Chores that another one of Adam's memories started pounding against the inside of his skull. As much as Adam was thrilled to be remembering more of his past, the intense pain that followed quickly on its trail was starting to take its toll. Almost a week straight of concentrated pain in his temples had almost gotten him the wrong kind of attention earlier in the day (via barely holding back a scream of frustration and a fainting spell) and the last thing he wanted was for the Eye to notice and take away his memories of Tommy.

As much as Adam found himself wondering what kind of freedom lay beyond these placid walls, the rhythmic motions of the Chores actually helped him to concentrate the pain and the memories so each could be processed without overwhelming him. Adam was glad that the first time the Dreams came; it had been just after Sleep, because the pain had caused him to near immediately lose consciousness. Day Two and Three had been exactly same, taking that long for Adam to adjust to the point of toleration.

The following Day Adam found himself in the same routine, once again finding the cleaning of the Chores the best place for him to reflect, think and (somehow) relax, despite the bleakness pressing in on him from all sides.

The golden eyes were more intense, and Adam was watching his back more than usual. Something was wrong. His subconscious seemed to know more than Adam, probably had figured out something Adam himself had yet to piece together. It was unnerving, to know something was wrong but not know exactly _why_.

It all came together when Adam found himself in the laundry room, folding sheets and clothes on a table which stood across from a solid glass wall. A small group of people walked past them, ignoring them like the insignificant Others they had become.

 _This is a weakness,_ Adam's mind supplied him. _Remember it._

The soldiers' leader was a female with curly light brown hair which fell to her shoulders, and for the most part, she looked human. Although bio-mechanical implants littered her body, totally replacing her legs and part of her chest, the rest looked like regular skin. Adam knew he couldn't assume anything, though. Not all implants and changes would be so obvious.

Adam recognized her from one of his Dreams, but that was it. He remembered a vague feeling that she had always been on his side, someone to trust. Perhaps she was one of the Transients members on the inside. He would have to keep watch for her. She looked important, and if she was wandering around the complex he lived and worked in, then this definitely wouldn't be the last time. Whether she was a friend, or not, despite the bad feeling Adam felt earlier, when it came to this woman - his mind was a blank.

* * *

 

Adam could already tell that this particular complex had multiple weaknesses. There were no guards, for one, just cameras wherever he went. Although it was possible that the guards were simply hiding in an unmarked room nearby incase of trouble, Adam highly doubted that was the case.

The Eye most likely believed in the control it held over most of humanity, save for a couple Transient groups they were working on digging out, capturing, destroying; the Eye was smart, no doubt about that, but it was also overconfident.

Underestimating humanity was always the downfall of the villains in the old movies left over from before the Eye. Somehow humanity would always win, even when the odds were against them. Adam had no idea how true any of those movies were - they were created long before his time.

Adam had been born in an Underground City, one of the few undiscovered, safe. He had left the city in his late teens because he had always felt restless, always had to be doing something, moving, planning, acting - generally getting into trouble. The problem with that was that the people of the city believed in compliance, staying low. They had to keep a low profile or the Eye would find them all and it would be over. Last Adam knew, there were still a few thousand people left.

He had to leave; people were scared of him, scared he would bring trouble to them. They said he should be with his 'own kind' - the Transient. It was only later, when Adam became more familiar with the Eye, with how they worked, that he realized it didn't matter if you were human or machine - if you control the population with an iron fist, there was no difference.

But the Eye needed to be dealt with first; the bigger threat.

Adam almost missed his cue to stop scrubbing the concrete floors, to clean up and move on to another Chore. His memory was increasing in frequency; emotions embraced beyond the calm complacency, the contentedness, were causing him to now have memory flashes throughout the day.

It was only through the routine Adam had been able to function at all. Through the memories from his childhood, Adam discovered that a part of him had always been different from other people. Something about him both was both feared and respected, but he still couldn't place exactly what. Most of the memories were to fleeting, to foggy to hang onto.

Somewhat conveniently, Adam was almost beginning to get used to the excruciating, near constant pain his memories caused him every time they decided to "pop up". Which was decidedly the best thing to ever happen to his thus far, as the Eye didn't exactly hand out pain medication, and while rare, the people who were Sick, Adam had never seen them again. Not being labeled as Sick was a total win. Although, looking back, he's really not sure how the Eye missed his episodes of intense pain mid day.

Even so, the most frustration thing was still the fact that his memories of the last few years leading up to his capture were stubbornly locked. Despite how much he had learned, it wouldn't be enough to help him now. He needed help.

* * *

 

Lately Adam began to feel a third set of eyes following him. Nothing had changed, as far as Adam could see. The people surrounding him where the same Others he had woken up to all those days ago.

The golden eyes were still hidden in the corners of his eyes, but they weren't uncomfortable. The Eye was, of course, always uncomfortable but this new set - he had no idea what to think.

Chores, Meal Time, more Chores - Adam subtly scanned each person and it took him almost two more days to finally place the unusual gaze. A tall, African American man who looked similar to one in his Dreams. A man he once had a conversation with, although the details of how and why were fuzzy. Dreams, even crystal clear ones, where hard to remember as clearly when it was time to Awake. It had taken Adam a few repeats to really recognize what was going on, however vaguely.

Now that Adam knew who the gaze belonged to, the intent of the stare had somehow... changed. This was the man who went to Sleep a few doors down from him. At nights, Adam noted, the Eye seemed to shut down some of its "eyes" around the building. Oddly, it included the sleeping areas. Given, he also found out later the same night that solider guards took the place of the Eye.

Intent. Adam locked eyes with the man before entering his room and what the man wanted was clear: _him_. This was, perhaps one of those Transient people; he remembered that they sometimes tried to infiltrate the Eyes' various buildings and complex's to have "inside men".

This made Adam's blood heat up. That look, what Adam took for sexual intent, in a place like _this_ was not only out of line, but it was crossing the line.

Adam let a slight smirk cross his face as he walked through his door, shutting it behind him. He waited in bed, forgoing his usual journal entries to instead listen for the quiet snick of the door opening and closing.

Adam somehow knew that this kind of attention had never particularly bothered him before, so his intense anger was surprising. That he reacted so negativity to a sexual attraction that was focused on _himself_ instead of Tommy seemed like it should be unusual, but at the moment, Adam also knew he could care less what might or might not have been his reaction in the past.

Whatever. Adam had been dealing with nothing but useless childhood memories for the last two days (memories which weren't even relevant to finding Tommy or escaping the complex). So he was probably due some personal one-on-one overreacting time. Adam had a brief moment of reflection that he probably shouldn't be giving into these feelings but...

Too bad. He was tired, getting more annoyed by the second that this possible Transient had been with him the entire time and not noticed a damn thing. So Adam gave in, relaxed into the warmth that surrounded him, that took him over. This was something he should be reigning in, but really, he had no desire to. Hell, his entire week had been crappy and frustrating beyond belief (knowing Tommy was holed up somewhere, possibly nearby with no idea how to get both of them out safely). Yeah.

A hand ran along his arm, gently resting on his shoulder. There was an extremely faint glow from the gold in both his eyes as he turned to face the man who had been eying him up all day. An eying that would stop, regardless of "intent".

A crack resounded in the room before the man even had a chance to move. A silent scream (which proved how much self control this man facing Adam held) as Adam tightened his grip, wrist bones fracturing under the intense pressure.

"Pl- Please," The man begged quietly. "I ju-just wanted to-"

Adam laughed in his face, not caring who might hear him. The feeling of being able to release all the tension Adam had unknowingly built up over the course of the week was too addicting, too intoxicating to release now. He only increased the pressure, feeling bones grinding together under his palm and a self-satisfied smirk worming its way onto his face again.

Despite the intense pleasure coursing through his veins, his mind nothing but a tormented mess. Adam knew he had been right about how dangerous golden eyes might be, but he also found himself not caring. Not if this was the key to getting Tommy back.

Adam was golden eyes. A man able to express emotions and wield a power his counterpart, blue eyes, would not have been able to even comprehend. A power that would have driven the other mad, insane. Adam knew he should remain in control, but this was the closest he had come so far to finding Tommy. So he finally stopped resisting.

If this man didn't know where his Tommy was and if he didn't stop eyeing him up this man's eyes would be the next thing to go. Well, perhaps he would ask questions after he broke a few more things in various places.

Whatever expression played itself over Adam's face obviously played out his intentions, because the man was pleading with Adam, but this time, Adam listened. Because the man knew the words which would spare his life (from more pain).

"I can take you to him right now!" The man shouted in a horse whisper. Adam immediately released the man, who scrambled to tuck his (probably broken) wrist into his body. He didn't move, though, and kept his eyes and neck turned away from Adam.

"Tommy Ratliff." The man tried again. "I know where to find him - I can take you to him."

After a few minutes pause, Adam watched as the man finally turned to look him in the eyes. Adam had no idea what the man was thinking, but he felt an air of resignation in the man's body language.

As they turned to leave, Adam saw his reflection in the mirror - blue eyes reflected back at him; could only watch as his reflection smiled gently and reminded him to be careful.

"Don't let anything stop you from finding Tommy." The mirror Adam spoke. "I'll never leave your side."

Adam touched the mirror, watching as the mirror Adam reached out as well.

The smile mirror Adam held for him was lighthearted and kind. Gentle in a way he had never known. "I know you're in pain, and it will get worse but... it won't always be so. When you learn to trust in me, we'll be the same person. And your torment will be gone."

 


End file.
